


Time and Memory

by fragileKnight1



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Crossover, F/F, Pokemon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 11:14:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29633793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fragileKnight1/pseuds/fragileKnight1
Summary: Welcome to the Caligon Region. A small country that was once much larger until a massive storm caused most of the land to sink beneath the waves. Max and Chloe have just begun their Pokemon journey and together they will have to face dangerous trials and seek out the truths behind the region's ancient legends.
Relationships: Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Chloe Price
Comments: 12
Kudos: 8





	1. The First Steps To Adventure

**Author's Note:**

> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1h_tplgjEuhMm3ZwRXAIxso2zTt5jBvjYxkPENW6CeU4/edit?usp=sharing
> 
> If you want to know what the region looks like I made a map.

Max had been frantic all week as her thirteenth birthday drew closer and now there were mere moments left before she could pick her starter. She just had to wait for Chloe to finish making her selection from Totodile, Turtwig, and Torchic.

Although she was sure she was visibly vibrating with excitement she had let Chloe go first because Chloe had postponed her own journey for a year just so that they could travel together, but as it turned out her choice was made for her by one of the starters. The Turtwig was nervous about the whole situation and had decided to hide behind her leg. The Turtwig looked up at her with a look in her eyes that screamed, "Please protect me," and she knew it was hers.

Chloe reached down to pet the Totodile and smiled when the Pokemon chomped down playfully on her hand. She stood up with the Totodile still dangling off her arm and said, "I like this one. She has spunk."

Max nodded and picked up the Turtwig, "And I want this one. She needs me."

"Excellent choices." Samuel held out two Pokedexes, one black and one blue, "I have already registered your names with Stella, and set up storage boxes for your pokemon at her ranch. Once you catch six all others will automatically be transferred to her and you can call her at any Pokemon Center to exchange your Pokemon."

Max took the blue Pokedex and picked up Turtwig's pokeball, "So, Chloe, what do we do now?"

"Well I think it is customary for us to battle." Chloe smiled, "One versus One. Totodile versus Turtwig."

"I don't know." Max fidgeted, "I doubt I would be any good. You are the one with the real skill."

"Max," Chloe took Max's hand, "Now we really have to battle just so that I can prove you wrong."

"After you battle I have a task for you." Samuel cut in, "I need you to visit a friend of mine who lives in the Old Growth. She goes by the name Tabitha and has a book on Pokemon History that I need for my current project."

Max nodded to Samuel and walked outside to the little battle arena with Chloe. She took a deep breath and sat down Turtwig, "Alright we are going to battle Chloe. Are you ready?"

Turtwig nodded nervously and turned to Chloe as she said, "Tur..Turtwig..Turt."

"Let's see what moves you have." Max pulled out her Pokedex, "Headbutt, Bite, and Razorleaf. These are really good moves."

Chloe laughed as Totodile started to dance happily and pulled out her Pokedex, "Well Totodile knows Bite, Water Gun, and Power Up Punch."

Max took a deep breath and ran through what she knew of Type Matchups in her head before saying, "Let's do this."

"As you wish Max." Chloe grinned and yelled, "Totodile use Power Up Punch!

Max fidgeted for a second and said, "Turtwig use Headbutt."

To Max's astonishment Turtwig dodged Totodile's attack and slammed her head into Totodile with enough force to send their opponent halfway across the arena. Max then called out Razor Leaf which Totodile tried to dodge by using Water Gun toward the ground but once the Totodile was in the air she couldn't dodge a second Razor Leaf was knocked out.

"Told you that you had skill." Chloe picked up her Totodile and fed her an Oran Berry, "The next time though my little dude will take down your Turtwig."

"Well I will have my Deerling back from my mom then." Max smiled, "And you should have your..."

Chloe pulled out a second pokeball and let out a Sandile that immediately clamped down on Chloe's leg, "My dad already gave me back my Sandile and told me to teach it manners."

"As if that is going to happen." Max pulled out her Pokedex to record Sandile's information and then checked his moves, "Your Sandile knows some weird moves do you know that? Aqua Tail, Thunder Fang, Bite, and Dig."

"My dad says he most likely belonged to a trainer before but they released him." Chloe rubbed the Sandile under his chin and he let her go, "But I will never do that. He has kept me safe since I saved him from the back of that delivery truck."

"I could never release one of my Pokemon." Max returned her Turtwig to her pokeball, "It is like an oath when you catch them that says I will always be your family and you will be able to rely on me."

"Just like our oath to be best friends forever."

"Yep." Max adjusted her worn satchel and said, "Well let's go get my Deerling and then head into the Old Growth. I bet we can catch a whole lot of great Pokemon there and I will be able to take some great photos for my portfolio."

"We do need Pokeballs." Chloe nodded, "Let's go get the money we saved up and then head to the Pokemart before the Old Growth."

"I got a ball." Max pulled a Dusk Ball out of her bag, "Found it in a hollow tree when trying to take a picture of a Stunky."

"Never going to catch one of them." Chloe shook her head, "I hate its face."

"That is so mean."

"It's not my fault that its face looks like a butt and that it makes farting noises all the time." Chloe picked up her flaptop backpack and slipped one strap over her shoulder, "Plus unlike Muk, or Trubbish, its smell never fades. I read that in a Pokemon Journal about Poison Types."

"Well now I will have to catch one to prove you wrong."

"Go ahead but I am right."

Max started to jog to keep up with Chloe's pace and they stopped by Chloe's place first to pick up some essential snacks from the fridge and to get some money from her Munchlax Bank before heading across the street to Max's house. She got her Deerling's pokeball from her mom and went into the backyard to find her Deerling staring blankly up at a Pidgey.

Max pet the Deerling on her head and returned her to the ball as she said, "Alright I think we are all ready."

"Yep." Chloe nodded and waved at Ryan as he came out of the house, "Here to wish us a safe journey?"

"Yes and I am here to give you each of these." Ryan handed Max and Choe ten Pokeballs each along with two potions, "Now I know how it is to finally get a chance to take a journey with your Pokemon, but do you have everything you need? Do you have your maps?"

"I got my town map, my journal, my camera, and lots of film." Max nodded, "And I put a map into Chloe's bag as well."

"See this is why I am traveling with Max." Chloe wrapped her arm around Max and hugged, "She keeps me focused and out of trouble."

"Well we both know that is not true." Ryan laughed, "You should go say goodbye to your mom and dad now Chloe."

"Dad is down at the docks working on the boats and my mom is at the gym." Chloe smiled, "I will say goodbye to them when I beat my mom in battle and get her Waterspout Badge."

"Well I am not sure if that is the best way to do that." Ryan laughed, "So where are you heading to?"

"Samuel wants us to find a woman who lives in the Old Growth."

"You must mean Tabitha." Ryan nodded, "Well if you stay on the main path you won't have any trouble finding her."

Chloe nodded and practically dragged Max out of the yard before saying, "There is no way we are staying on the path. I know that forest and if you stay on the path you won't find any Pokemon."

"Shouldn't we play it safe?"

"Nope." Chloe started to walk away, "We are going to go absolutely feral."

"This seems like it is going to end very badly."

"Max," Chloe stepped out of the way for two people riding bikes, "You got to be willing to learn. Besides you want to take some amazing photos don't you? Well you get those by blazing your own trail."

"You read that in a magazine didn't you."

"Still good advice."

Max shrugged and followed Chloe in silence to the start of the Old Growth Forest. It was a place that she had always wanted to visit, and she checked to see if her camera had enough film in it before following Chloe down a shadowy path between the trees.


	2. Catch those Teddiursa!

Chloe stopped when she realized that she couldn't hear the sound of Max's footsteps behind her anymore and turned to see that somehow she had lost her best friend. She sighed and went back until she found Max's footprints leading off into the forest and mumbled, "Made me stay on the path and ended up wandering off it herself."

She shook her head and was about to follow the footsteps when two girls chasing a came running by chasing a gang of Teddiursa. One of the girls stumbled and fell forcing the other to stop the pursuit.

"Are you two alright?"

"Those Teddiursa stole our bag of evolution stones." The girl that fell shook the mud from her jeans, "If Victoria finds out we lost that she is going to kill us."

"She won't kill us, Taylor." The other girl was fidgeting nervously, "She will just stop talking to us until she forgives us."

"That is worse than killing us, Courtney." Taylor looked at Chloe, "Can you help us?"

"I want to but my friend Max disappeared on me and I should look for her. How about I help you and then you help me?" Chloe smiled, "The name is Chloe by the way."

"I'm Taylor and she is Courtney." Taylor sighed, "We were down at the creek waiting for Victoria to come back when the Teddiursa invaded our camp. They ate up all of our berries before snagging the bag."

Courtney rolled her eyes and said, "And we will gladly help you find your friend if you help us."

"Well, Teddiursa are normally nocturnal so they have to have a reason for coming out during the day like this." Chloe looked to the underbrush that the Teddiursa disappeared into and smiled when she saw that they had left tracks. "The good news is that they will be easy to follow."

Chloe followed the tracks through the woods to a cave that was barely noticeable due to the trees in front of it and backed away when she saw a massive Beartic walking around outside. It was giving orders to the Teddiursa and when it saw the bag of evolution stones it Ice Beamed the Teddiursa holding it and tossed the bag into the cave.

"Beartic's are not native to this forest." Chloe looked back at Taylor and Courtney, "It must have wandered down her from the Glacial Mountains and the Everfrost Forest. The Teddiursa are obviously afraid of it so if we can remove this Beartic then everything should go back to normal."

"You mean we have to battle that thing?"

"It should be that hard." Chloe pointed her Pokedex at the Beartic to get a good read on the Pokemon and said, "Are you ready?"

"No." Taylor shook her head, "I only have one Pokemon."

"And I have two." Courtney frowned, "We always let Victoria battle for us."

"Well now you have to stand on your own."

Chloe stepped out and sent out her Totodile causing the Beartic to let out a loud roar before charging with a vicious Slash Attack. She waited until the Beartic was within striking distance to shout, "Totodile, use Power Up Punch!"

Totodile nodded and stood her ground until the last moment and dodged Beartic's attack before slamming her fist into its back, but before she could escape Beartic turned around and hit her with an Ice Beam. Totodile withstood the attack but was definitely not going to be able to take another hit and was about to return her to her ball when a Vulpix appeared and used Willow-the-Wisp on the Beartic followed by a Joltik using Electroweb.

The Beartic broke out of the Electroweb and quickly froze the Joltik solid with another Ice Beam but before it could knock out Taylor's Vulpix, Chloe had Totodile use another Power-Up Punch leaving Taylor time to use Flame Charge when the Beartic staggered.

The Beartic took a knee and was about to stand when Taylor tossed out a Luxury Ball. The ball shook several times before it finally chimed causing everyone to stare in stunned silence. Eventually Taylor hugged Courtney and Chloe and with a wide smile said, "I actually caught it. That is the first pokemon I have ever caught."

Chloe picked up the Luxury Ball and handed it to Taylor, "Your Vulpix did a great job. There is no doubt that we would have never won without her."

Courtney slipped into the cave and came back out with the back of evolution stones. She handed Taylor the bag and said, "There is a whole lot of stuff in there. Fishing rods, bicycles, cooking pots, garden tools, and more. What should we do?"

"People will be missing that stuff." Taylor pulled a flat device and called the Arcadia Bay Sheriff's station with it, "They want us to wait here. It should only be ten minutes."

Chloe nodded and sat down on a rock to heal up her Totodile with some berries. She then let out her Sandile and gave the both of her Pokemon some food. When they were done she pulled out a small poketoy and tossed it at Totodile who used her tail to bat it to Sandile.

After a couple minutes Courtney sent back out her Joltik and Taylor sent back out her Vulpix and they all played together until twin deputies showed up driving matching ATV's pulling small trailers. 

They didn't seem at all interested in anything beside the items in the cave until both trailers were full. Once they called into the Sheriff's office one of them, her name tag said Helena, walked over to Chloe and pulled a pen out of her bun before saying, "So it was a horde of Teddiursa being bullied by a Beartic that has now been captured?"

"Yes ma'am." Chloe looked at Taylor, "She is the one that caught the Beartic. Do you want to see it?"

"No." Helena shook her head, "This will make this area a lot safer and on behalf of Arcadia Bay we would like to thank you."

The other deputy walked over, her name tag said Leanna, and handed each of them a pokeball with a gold star on the top followed by compact fishing rods. "That is a special ball that is called the Badge Ball by the Unified Task Force. They work best on Pokemon with status conditions, and those rods well, to be absolutely honest, are from a failed fishing contest held by our department that didn't end up working out."

"Yeah I know." Chloe laughed, "I am from Arcadia Bay. My dad was one of the people who had helped set up that event and one of the people who got sick from the bad chowder."

"Well at least now you will be able to get some use out of those rods." Helena shook her head, "We still have well over forty of them that we don't know what to do with."

"Well I appreciate it." Chloe slipped the rod into her bag, "This will come in handy."

"No we appreciate your help." Leanna nodded, "Finding this cave will help us close a lot of cases and might make up for causing half the town to get sick."

Chloe shook her head and waited for Leanna and Helena to leave before saying, "Now we just need to find..."

Before Chloe could finish her thought a thick fog rolled in and Max and another girl, whom she assumed was Victoria appeared next to a massive old oak. They were both dead asleep and had a pile of berries in their laps along with King's Rocks on their heads.


	3. Secrets of the Old Growth

Max was loving being able to explore the Old Growth. There were so many new Pokemon to photograph and read about in her Pokedex. So many strange and wonderful plants to examine, and so many lost items to find. She was having so much fun that she didn't realize that she had wandered too far from the path, and from Chloe, until it was too late to find her own way back.

She knew she had several reasons to panic but also knew that was the last thing she should do if she wanted to get back safely. If she didn't keep calm the situation would only keep getting worse so she decided to send out her Deerling in the hopes that it would remember the way back to Arcadia Bay. She let her hop around for a moment before kneeling down and saying, "Alright buddy do you know the way back?"

Deerling paused long enough to give Max a blank expression that told her that there was absolutely nothing going on inside her head before going back to playing. Max let out a sigh and decided to sit down on a rock to wait for someone to come rescue her.

Rule one of getting lost was waiting for rescue and in a few minutes rescue did come in the form of a weird HootHoot that hopped down from the tree above her onto her head. She quickly took out her camera, took a selfie of the encounter and then pulled out her Pokedex before asking the HootHoot, "Do you know how to get back to Arcadia Bay?"

"Hoot Hoot."

"Ist that a yes or no?"

"Hoot Hoot."

Max looked toward the bushes on the other side of the clearing as they started to shake and to her surprise the HootHoot blasted the bush with a Shadowball causing someone to scream. She jumped up as the HootHoot returned to her perch on Max's head and yelled, "Chloe?!"

"I don't know who this Chloe is..." A very posh looking girl in a muddy and torn cardigan climbed out of the bushes, "...But I do know that you owe me..."

"Do you know how to get out of here?" Max ran over to the girl, "Oh...wait...sorry. My name is Max and I am lost."

"Victoria." Victoria pulled a flat black device out of her bag, "And I am lost as well. My Satnav has been leading me in circles for..."

Max grabbed the HootHoot to keep her from attacking Victoria again, "I am so sorry."

"Just put that crazy bird back into their pokeball."

"I can't." Max smiled, "She is a wild Pokemon."

"Then catch it!" Victoria pinched the bridge of her nose, "It obviously likes you."

Max paused as it dawned on her that Victoria was right and she quickly pulled out the Dusk Ball she had found out of her bag and smiled when the HootHoot tapped the ball to catch herself. Once the ball was secure on her belt she pulled out her Pokedex to check the HootHoot's move set, "Wowza, this HootHoot is awesome. She knows ShadowBall, Hypnosis, Dreameater, and Air Slash."

"Very nice." Victoria nodded, "I may have to battle you once we get out of here."

"What are you doing out here by the way?"

"I am looking for Celebi." Victoria looked at her Satnav, "But this thing isn't working anymore."

"I also heard the rumors about a Celebi living in this forest." Max clapped as an idea came to her, "I bet they are messing with you. If your Satnav is telling you to go one direction you should go the opposite."

"In the dumbest way possible that actually makes sense."

"Good, I am going with you." Max smiled, "If I can get a picture of Celebi that would be the crown jewel of my portfolio."

"You are a Pokemon Photographer?"

"Not yet, but I hope to be one day." Max showed Victoria her camera, "So far all I have is pictures of Weedles, Pidgeys, and my Deerling."

Victoria looked at the Deerling that was playing with some foongus, "That is yours?"

"Yes." Max had Deerling return to her ball, "I found her injured outside of the forest a couple years ago and after nursing her back to health my dad caught her for me."

"Do you have any other Pokemon?"

"Just a Turtwig."

"Well I have a Cyndaquil, Ditto, Honedge, Dratini, and a Clefairy." Victoria started to follow her Satnav, "My Cyndaquil was imported from a ranch in Johto. It is the very best like all of my Pokemon."

"Well..."

Victoria stopped and said, "Your idea is working. I guess that means you are as dumb as you look."

Max wanted to be mad but then she saw a Ledyba resting on the trunk of a tree and took a shot before pulling out a Pokeball to catch them but before she could toss it Victoria tossed an Ultra Ball.

"That was mean."

"If you want him you could always trade me your HootHoot."

"Never." Max crossed her arms and laughed when a Yanma landed on her head. "I'll catch this one instead."

Max sent out her HootHoot and the Yanma flew over to a mossy boulder before vibrating their wings to create a powerful Sonic Boom, but HootHoot withstood the attack and with Shadow Ball followed by Hypnosis she was able to catch them. She picked up the ball and put it with the others after returning HootHoot to her ball.

"Today is my lucky day." Max smiled at her Pokedex, "This Yanma knows Ancient Power."

"I will trade you a Growlithe for it."

"No!" Max shook her head, "Or at least not now. Let me think about it."

"Fine." Victoria started to walk again, "I'll just ask my parents to buy me a Yanma for me."

"Mine will still be better." Max laughed, "Sonic Boom, Ancient Power, Agility, and Signal Beam."

"Well my Ledyba has..." Victoria opened her sleek metallic silver Pokedex, "Bide, Encore, Screech, and Swift. I can't use this."

"Seriously?" Max shook her head, "Are you hating on that Ledyba just because he is not perfect?"

"No." Victoria fidgeted, "He just doesn't fit my battle style."

Max stopped to take a picture of Victoria silhouetted by the light flickering through the tree tops and said, "Any Pokemon can be amazing if given enough love."

"Well I guess that is true." Victoria shrugged, "Still not going to train him though and not even that weirdly adorable pouty face will change my mind."

Max stepped into the clearing first and gasped at the sight of massive trunks where the oldest trees in the forest had once been. She rubbed her hand over a stump that had more rings than she could possibly count and said, "Why would someone do this?"

"This is just an act of pure cruelty. Only a person without a soul would do this." Victoria shook her head, "Celebi is supposed to be the guardian of ancient forests like this one. Whoever did this might have been trying to force it out of hiding."

Max picked up a strange medallion that looked like swirling clouds and said, "Do you recognize this?"

"That is a symbol of the Vortex Club. It only belongs to those who can either win enough battles or pay enough money to become a part of the inner circle." Victoria clenched her fist, "The Vortex is and will always be a club for the wealthy elite like my parents and me."

"So the Vortex is behind this?"

"That could have been here for years." Victoria looked away from Max as a strange fog rolled in, "It proves nothing."

Max saw something strange in the fog but her Pokedex couldn't register it so she pulled out her camera to take a picture as the fog started to glow with a faint green light. The stumps started to rot as new trees started to sprout, and then a Celebi rose up from the ground.

The Celebi started to fly around the clearing causing the sprouts to grow back into full grown trees and as Pokemon that had been forced out by the death of the trees started to return the Celebi stopped in front of Max and Victoria. Victoria reached out to touch it, but before she could the fog overtook them and they drifted off into a deep dreamless sleep.


	4. The Past Haunts Us

Max and Chloe said goodbye to Taylor and Courtney, and Max yelled goodbye to Victoria who was already halfway down the path. Victoria heard Max though and gave a sort of backward goodbye wave without looking back and Max said, "Do you think she liked me? I mean I think we became friends but I couldn't tell."

"Max," Chloe laughed and started to walk down the eastward path, "That is a mystery no mortal can solve."

"Did I tell you that I caught two new Pokémon?" Max smiled, "They showed me that they wanted to be on my team by landing on my head."

"Well that is because you have an adorable head. If I was a Pokémon I would want to perch on it as well." Chloe laughed, "I almost had the chance to get a Beartic but Taylor was the one to toss the Pokeball."

"That is rough." Max patted Chloe on the back, "At least you tried."

"I should have tried to catch one of the Teddiursa." Chloe groaned and put her hands behind her head, "I don't know why I didn't think of that. So what did you catch?"

"HootHoot and Yanma."

"Well I am not worried." Chloe smiled, "I have two awesome Pokémon and eventually I will catch more."

Max pointed to an Ekans slithering across the path and said, "That one would help against your mom."

"True." Chloe smiled and sent out her Sandile, "Alright Ekans prepare to join Team Chloe!"

Max backed up to give Chloe space and tried her best to cheer Chloe on but in the end Chloe needed very little cheering because the Ekans were caught after one Thunder Fang from Sandile. She clapped and looked to Chloe as she said, "Your Sandile is a powerhouse!"

"Yes he is." Chloe scratched her Sandile under his chin before returning him to his pokeball, "And now I will have another future powerhouse on my side. At the moment Ekans knows Poison Sting, Wrap, Screech and Poison Tail."

"Not a bad move set."

"Nope." Chloe rounded the turn in the road and pointed to a small cabin with a grass roof, "And we made it to Tabitha's. That wasn't so hard was it?"

"We are three or four hours into this and so far I only have gotten lost once." Max laughed, "I'd say we are doing pretty good."

Chloe knocked on the cabin's door and backed up when a woman with vines braided into her hair and leaves sewn onto her lab coat answered, "Are you Tabitha?"

"Yes." Tabitha smiled, "What do you need?"

"Professor Samuel sent us to get a book from you." Chloe looked past Tabitha and into the cabin and shivered when she saw it was crawling with Spinarak, Weedle, and Caterpie, "You really love Bug-Types."

"They are my field of expertise." Tabitha let Chloe and Max into the cabin, "Have you ever heard of the Pokemon called Glassifli?"

"No." Max laughed when a caterpie landed on her head, "Is it a new Pokemon?"

"No, Glassifli is an old Pokemon." Tabitha pulled a thick book down from the shelf above her desk, "Glassifli went extinct after the Great Storm two hundred years ago. It relied on a special flower and when the flowers died out Glassifli faded away."

Max took the book when Chloe got caught in Spinarak's web, "That is really sad."

"It happens a lot and often not because of natural disasters unless you count people as natural disasters. I don't because people have choices unlike the wind or rain." Tabitha smiled, "Glassifli's legacy lives on though. You see its transparent wings were able to absorb solar energy to power its electrical attacks and scientists were inspired by this to create the solar glass you can find in Cascadia and Silica."

"I read somewhere that you can take Spinarak's webs and create cables stronger than steel." Chloe pulled herself free on the web and walked over with several Spinarak's crawling over her, "And from what I just experienced I'd say that is true."

"I was the one who wrote that article and if you ever find yourself at the Ragged Peak you will have the chance to see my theory in action." Tabitha helped Chloe remove the Spinarak, "They built a suspension bridge over the Roaring Gorge using only Spinarak silk cables."

"Well we will definitely see that one day." Chloe nodded, "We are taking the gym challenge."

"She is taking the gym challenge." Max corrected, "I am just following along in my own journey to become a Pokémon photographer."

"Do you have any Pokémon?"

"I have three." Chloe nodded, "And Max has four."

Tabitha nodded and said, "Well then you might be able to help me settle something from the past."

"What?"

"First I have to tell you a story about a group of scientists that came here thirty years ago to research a strange phenomenon that some Pokémon are capable of." Tabitha looked at Max, "Did you know some Pokémon evolve by reverting back to a form they had in the ancient past?"

"Like Yanma into Yanmega." Max nodded, "I have a Yanma that knows Ancient Power and I am looking forward to evolving it."

"That is a prime example, and a personal favorite of mine." Tabitha nodded, "Well these scientists found strange gems they would later call Chronostones on the bottom of the ocean and decided to run some tests on them. These crystals could create temporal rifts under the right conditions and they decided to test to see if they could use them to revert some Pokémon back to earlier forms."

"That sounds like a recipe for a disaster." Chloe shook her head, "What happened?"

"Their experiment went critical and they could not control the energy being unleashed." Tabitha looked down sadly, "Only three people made it out before the entire building vanished."

"And what do you need from us?"

"The building has reappeared." Tabitha looked back up and took a deep breath, "I have no idea why it has come back after thirty-five years, but I need to get into it. The only problem is that there is a Drapion guarding it and I can't get close."

Max looked at Tabitha, "You were one of the three weren't you."

“I was six at the time.” Tabitha nodded, “I was already outside when the experiment went critical and the other two that got out kept me from going back in. I have no idea what happened to my father but I believe this Drapion was once his Scorupi.”

“We will help you.” Chloe nodded, “Not sure how well we are going to do but we are going to help you.”

“Come with me then.” Tabitha nodded, “I will show you to the laboratory.”

Max followed Chloe and Tabitha out of the cabin and down a hidden path that led beneath an ancient stone archway into what looked like an ancient city that had lost the fight against mother nature centuries ago with a very modern looking geodesic dome that looked terrifyingly unnatural. It was completely untouched by the plant life growing around it and seemed to be shimmering like a mirage.

The Drapion that Tabitha had warned them about was resting right in front but even it seemed off. Like the dome it was shimmering and when it sensed their presence it raised up revealing it had pulsing red eyes.

Max backed up and took a deep breath as she selected Yanma's pokeball, "I don't think Drapion is supposed to look like that."

Tabitha nodded, "It has somehow absorbed the energy from the reaction. I am hoping that you can cause it to exhaust that energy so that it can return to normal."

Chloe nodded and said, "No promises."

Max jogged a few steps behind Chloe and sent out her Yanma at the same time Chloe sent out her Sandile. She waited for the Drapion to attack Sandile before having Yanma use Sonic Boom and then an Agility to dodge Drapion's Poison Tail attack.

Sandile tried to use Dig but as soon as it resurfaced Drapion knocked it away with a Night Slash attack leaving only Yanma but thanks to Yanma's Speed Boost ability there was almost no way for Drapion to land a hit.

Yanma kept dodging until finally it retreated back to Max as it started to glow and in a blinding flash evolved into Yanmega. Yanmega knocked Drapion back with a powerful Signal Beam giving Chloe time to send out her Totodile.

Drapion let out an enraged roar as Yanmega and Totodile laid into it with Signal Beams and Water Guns until finally it collapsed. Max let Yanmega perch on her head and looked to Chloe who was treating Sandile's injuries with a Sitrus Berry, "Is he okay?"

"He is tough." Chloe nodded and looked at the Drapion as it started to glow, "What the..."

Max gasped when the Drapion returned to being a Scorupi and said, "That is why it was enraged. The energy had forced it to evolve and it was in pain."

Chloe gave Tabitha an Oran Berry and said, "Will it be okay?"

"Yes, I think so." Tabitha picked up Skorupi as it started to cry and hugged it as she started to cry as well, "It is going to be okay now. You are safe now."

Max returned Yanmega to his pokeball and followed Tabitha into the dome. While the outside still looked like it was in structurally sound the same could not be said for the inside. Some of the rooms were corroded and caving in while others had twisted in on themselves in a way that made her head hurt, but eventually they reached the center of the facility. The floor was covered in a strange metallic sand and all of the equipment except for the glass structure in the center was scorched beyond recognition.

"What were you really working on, Dad?" Tabitha's voice was heavy with sadness as she looked over the chamber, "There is just one last place I need to look so stay here until I return."

Max watched Tabitha walk away and picked up a rough looking crystal lying under the sand and said, "I am going back outside to explore the ruins. This place gives me the creeps."

"As you wish Max." Chloe nodded, "I will wait here in this freaky place for Tabitha's return."

Max nodded and quickly exited the building. The ruins were honestly no less creepy than the inside of the dome but they didn't make her feel as uncomfortable. She wandered around aimlessly looking for the perfect shot and eventually found a building that hadn't been damaged as the others. She pushed back the vines that were blocking the entrance and took a quick picture of the mural on the far wall before walking over to examine it.

It almost reminded her of what had happened in the forest except it should people offering up berries to a strange pokemon in exchange for it making their fields grow, but then one day the villagers got greedy and tried to force the Pokemon to stay and the Pokemon turned their fields against them and sent wild Pokemon to destroy their houses. One of them tried to appease the Pokemon as the rest of the people fled but in the end he ended up alone.

Max took a few more shots of the mural and looked around for more but they were all too faded. She started to leave but as she did her bag started to glow and she pulled out the crystal that she picked up from inside the dome. Its light spread across the room and she got to see ghosts from the past.

A young girl learned to paint from two smeargle first by painting on each other then on the walls. The scenes flowed and skipped through the girl's life as she grew up with only her Pokemon as her friends. People came and went, some to talk, some to mock, and a few to have her talk to their Pokemon. Then she was wizened and trying to paint the mural that remained. Then Max saw her collapse her brush rolling across the floor only to have her fade into a scene showing her Pokemon finishing the mural for her.

Max took a deep breath as the light from the crystal faded and decided for now to keep what had happened a secret. She would never be able to explain it properly anyways so she would just wait until she had proof that it wasn't just her imagination.

"MAX!"

Max snapped back at the sound of Chloe yelling her name and she came running out to find Tabitha had set the Dome on fire, "What is going on!"

"Tabitha asked if my Totodile knew Water Gun and when I said yes." Chloe shrugged, "I mean if you want to get rid of the past this is the best way to do it I guess."

"This is crazy!"

"Yeah." Tabitha laughed, "It seemed like a better idea a few moments ago. Chloe have your Totodile put the flames out. It has burned long enough."

Max shook her head as Chloe had Totodile fight the fire with very little success and looked around at the ruins as she imagined what the place truly looked like before they decided to abuse that mysterious Pokemon. She walked away again and as she was looking over some shards from broken clay pots saw a Baltoy spinning slowly in its sleep. She gently tossed a Pokeball and smiled when it chimed.


	5. Kate Marsh, The Sweetest Person in the World

Max looked at Chloe and smiled softly to get Chloe to feel a little better. She then pulled out her Baltoy's pokeball to check its moves which were Sandstorm, Psybeam, Drill Run, and Rapid Spin. She then looked over at Chloe and said, "How about we have a rematch?"

"Nope." Chloe smiled, "No rematch until I get five Pokemon as well. You are like some kind of Pokewhisperer or something."

"I just got lucky." Max smelled the air and grimaced as the stench of rotten fruit, honey, and wildflowers filled her nose, "Ugh...what is that?"

Chloe pointed up at the trees at all of the bug Pokemon swarming in the same direction and said, "I don't know but this is a great opportunity for me to catch some Pokemon."

Max watched Chloe take off running into the trees after the swarm and tried her best to keep up. After a few minutes of running they found themselves at a destroyed campsite swarming with Bug pokemon where a girl was trying to fend them off with just a Phanpy.

Max quickly sent out HootHoot to use Air Slash while Chloe had her Totodile use Water Gun to clear a path to the girl, and Max quickly realized that the odor was coming from her. She pinched her nose and said, "What happened?"

"I was testing out a new Pokelure for a friend and I spilled it on myself."

"Oh, I think I can fix that." Chloe smiled and looked at her Totodile, who used Water Gun without having to be told to and once the girl was soaked the smell started to fade, "I think it worked."

Max looked at the swarm as it started to return to the woods and said, "Yeah it seems your were right Chloe, and also I am sorry for my friend spraying you down. I'm Max and she is Chloe."

"Kate." Kate returned her Phanpy to its ball and shook off the water from her sleeves, "And I am just relieved I wasn't swarmed."

Chloe nodded and looked at an Ariados that hadn't returned, "I think this is my chance to get a new team member."

Max looked at the Ariados and said, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Chloe ran over with Totodile and immediately tried to use Bite but the Ariados dodged with Shadow Sneak and hit Totodile from behind with a Poison Jab. Totodile became poisoned and Chloe returned her to her ball before sending out Sandile.

The Ariados tried to use String Shot but Sandile dodged with Dig which seemed to do a lot of damage to the Ariados but it was not yet ready to go down. It started to use Fell Stinger after Fell Stinger but then the Sandile got close and used Thunder Fang which paralyzed the Ariados.

Chloe pulled out her Badge Ball and with more than a little luck caught the Ariados, "Now we can have a battle."

"I am not sure..."

"When we get back to Arcadia Bay we are going to battle." Chloe cut Max off, "Right after we help Kate get dry. I know Max has already apologized for me but I am really sorry."

"It is fine." Kate let her hair down causing it to cascade over shoulders before trying to ring out the water, "At least I know now that the Pokelure is not waterproof."

Max nodded and helped Kate gather up her belongings before heading back to the path. With nothing to distract them they were able to get back to Arcadia Bay in less than an hour and since it was now late at night Max was able to convince Chloe to wait until the morning to battle.

Instead they went to Chloe's house and raided the kitchen for all things sweet and salty before making a nest in the living room. Max hooked up Chloe's Super System and they played a couple rounds of Pokemon Rumble while waiting for Kate to get done in the downstairs bathroom.

Max let out all of her Pokemon and they quickly started to fight playfully for their place next to her with the HootHoot winning the right to her lap and with Turtwig to her left, Deerling to her right, Yanmega on her head, and Baltoy floating in the middle of her and Chloe.

Chloe then let out her three and she almost immediately got wrapped by the Ekans while Totodile and Sandile chose to share her lap, and the Ariados climbed up the wall to the ceiling.

Kate laughed when she came into the room and let out her Pokemon, Phanpy, Togepi, Happiny, Phantump, and Riolu, before sitting down. She looked at the game in the system and said, "I played this all the time before I started my journey."

"Well I am the Queen of the Arena." Chloe opened a can of soda,"Where are you from?"

"I am from Pierpoint." Kate sighed, "My dad is the Gym Leader there and he made me start when I was only ten with a Pokemon he chose for me. It wasn't easy but I am still going."

"How many badges do you have?" Max carefully handed Kate the controller so she wouldn't disturb the sleeping HootHoot, "We just started so Chloe has none, and I am not doing this for the Gyms. I am doing this for the chance of taking amazing photos of Pokemon."

"I don't have to worry about gym badges anymore." Kate looked at Max, "Where did you find a Baltoy at?"

"Ancient ruins hidden deep in the Old Growth." Max shook her head, "It is hard to explain."

"We helped a hermit commit arson." Chloe laughed, "We are officially criminals."

Kate raised an eyebrow at that and said, "I hope you are joking."

"I wish she was as well." Max yawned and carefully laid down while still holding the HootHoot, "You two can go ahead and play without me. I am going to take a nap."

"We will try not to wake you."

Max nodded slowly at Chloe and closed her eyes as her Pokemon moved in closer to her. She had never felt so good before and quickly drifted off into a dream about what she saw at the ruins only this time she was the one doing the painting instead of just watching.

Then the dream changed and a seething darkness overtook the bright colors as everything started to twist in on itself and she started to choke. Before the darkness could completely overtake her the dream shattered and she woke to find HootHoot staring at her.

"Did you use Dream Eater to wake me up?"

"HOOT!"

Max smiled and rubbed HootHoot on the head as she said, "Thank you."

Max sighed and sat up. She wasn't about to try and fall asleep again which left her with very little to do besides walk outside to look at the moon. She sat down in the swing and closed her eyes as she tried to remember the dream exactly. She had the feeling that the darkness in the dream also had to do with what she saw in the ruins but couldn't make the connection.

After a few minutes of brooding her mind moved onto the journey and started to think about the ways they were going to get to the next gym in Carivale Beach after Chloe got the Waterspout Badge from her mom. The fastest way would be to take a bus and use the Elevated Highway, but she didn't want to take the fast way. What she wanted to do was take the old Torkoal Railway like how they did the last time they went to Carivale Beach with their families.

They were eight and they went down for the Festival of the Constellations. They had a lot of fun at the Festival but not half as much fun as they did running from one end of the train to the other. The conductor even let them shovel coal into the furnace before treating them to the greatest ice cream sundaes in the world. The memories pushed away all the bad from the dreams and she went back inside to try and get some more sleep before dawn.


End file.
